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The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will have to select the team for the one-off series against Afghanistan. Before selecting the players for the series, the selection committee led by Ajit Agarkar is keeping an eye on all the players who are on the radar.
It was earlier reported that the batting unit of the Men in Blue Test team is expected to remain mostly unchanged, but there could be some major reshuffle to the bowling department. Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Siraj are also to be called for the test match.
BCCI will have to take a decision on Jasprit Bumrah
The key players of the Men in Blue team are now performing with their respective franchises in the ongoing Indian Premier League 2026 (IPL 2026) season. While some frontline players are performing well in IPL 2026, some star players, including Jasprit Bumrah, are struggling with their performance.
As per the latest reports, the selection committee is going to take some bold decisions regarding the bowling departments keeping in mind the workload management issue.
But this does not mean that the selectors will hand over the debut cap and field a new player as the Test match will be part of the current World Test Championship cycle. It is expected that the board will also field a team against a team like Afghanistan, which is far away from Team India in the ICC Test rankings.
Selectors do not want to distribute test cap so easily – BCCI source
“The selectors don’t believe in compromising with the Test team just because India are playing Afghanistan. They want the best lineup to play. They don’t want to distribute Test caps so easily. Siraj’s workload limit is too high.”
“Nitish Kumar Reddy is also seen as someone who can contribute in the seam-bowling department. The BCCI monitors all the data points when it comes to workload management,” a BCCI source told The Times of India.
The source further told the news website, “The decision on Jasprit Bumrah will be taken after detailed discussion. Last time India played Afghanistan in a Test match, a frontline XI was played.”
Despite producing some unexpected results in several Test matches last year, the team has a bright chance to qualify for the final of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27. As long as there is opportunity, the board and team will continue to strive to achieve the best possible outcome.
Many bowlers deserve to be included in the Indian national team
In the ongoing IPL 2026 campaign, Jasprit Bumrah has been among the bowlers who have failed to live up to expectations. The workload of star fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah remains a topic of discussion among the management board officials.
On the other hand, the appearance of Auqib Nabi before the India vs Afghanistan test match is also a serious matter. Lucknow Super Giants fast bowler Prince Yadav is also performing well in IPL 2026.
Anshul Kamboj is another fast bowler who deserves to be in the running to be selected for the one-off Test. The Chennai Super Kings fast bowler made his Test debut for the Men in Blue against England last year.
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